The chemical hazard information contained in ChemHAT comes from the Chemical and Material Library (CML) created by the Healthy Building Network for its Pharos database of chemicals and materials in building products. The CML is a first-of-its-kind database that checks a library of over 180,000 chemicals and materials against 77 authoritative chemical hazard lists (see description below) and 50 restricted substances lists developed by state, national, and international governmental agencies, retailers, brands, manufacturers, and other reputable, science-based non-governmental organizations.
When you look up a chemical in ChemHAT, you’ll find icons indicating the health effects the chemical can cause, as well as information about how you’re likely to be exposed to the chemical (e.g., by breathing it, or having it touch your skin or eyes.) If you’re interested in knowing where we got the information about that particular health effect, click on the “How We Know” link to the right of the hazard icon you’re interested in. Chemicals that have health effects icons in ChemHAT are verified by scientists as having specific effects on health or the environment (see below for an explanation of Authoritative Lists.)
Hazard Information and Authoritative Lists
There are two main types of lists associated with chemical hazards in the information we draw from Pharos: chemical hazard lists and restricted substance lists (RSLs). Here’s how Pharos describes their data sources:
Pharos provides resources to assess human and environmental health hazards of chemicals plus tools to collaborate to find safer alternatives. The goal of this effort is to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and improve the inherent safety of materials and products. Pharos aggregates hazard lists to make associations between chemicals and 26 specific human and environmental health endpoints, assigning a high, moderate or low concern for each endpoint whenever possible. The Pharos team constantly monitors data sources to keep up to date.
Many organizations rely on these same authoritative lists to evaluate chemical hazards when looking for safer chemicals, materials and products, including companies, institutional purchasers, and governments. ChemHAT now makes this information available for workers.
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC)
- AOEC Exposure Codes - Asthmagen List
Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA)
- BIFMA - e3/level Annex B list of chemicals
Pattys Toxicology: author William K Boyes
- Chemicals with occupational exposure standards based on nervous system effects (Boyes 2001)
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2CPII)
- Cradle to Cradle Certified™ v3 Banned List
- Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard Version 4 Basic Level Restricted Substances List (RSL) - DRAFT
California Environmental Protection Agency (CA EPA)
- Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity - California Proposition 65 - Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act Of 1986
California Department of Toxic Substance Control (CA DTSC)
- Safer Consumer Product Candidate Chemicals
Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE)
- Toxicant and Disease Database
ChemSec, The International Chemical Secretariat
- SIN (Substitute It Now) List
Clean Production Action (CPA)
- Chemical Footprint Project - Chemicals of High Concern (CFP CoHC)
Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DK-EPA)
- Danish Advisory List for Self-Classification of Hazardous Substances
Environment Canada & Health Canada (EC)
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) - Environmental Registry - Domestic Substances List (DSL)
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) - Environmental Registry - Toxic Substances List (Schedule 1)
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) - Environmental Registry - Virtual Elimination List
Environmental Health Perspectives
- San Antonio Statement on Brominated and Chlorinated Flame Retardants
European Union / European Commission (EU EC)
- Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP) - Classification and Labelling Inventory - CMRs
- EU - Cosmetics Regulation Annex II
- European chemical Substances Information System (ESIS) - PBT List
- Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures (CLP) Annex 6 Table 3-1 - GHS Hazard code criteria
- EU - Manufacturer REACH hazard submissions
- Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer - Controlled substances and new substances
- Public Activities Coordination Tool for Risk Management Option Analysis
- EU Community Strategy for Endocrine Disruptors - Priority List
- Restrictions On The Manufacture, Placing On The Market And Use Of Certain Dangerous Substances, Preparations And Articles - Carcinogens, Mutagens & Reproductive Toxicants
- Restrictions On The Manufacture, Placing On The Market And Use Of Certain Dangerous Substances, Preparations And Articles - Excluding Carcinogens, Mutagens & Reproductive Toxicants
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 987/2008 Annex VI & V Exemptions from the Obligation to Register in accordance with REACH article 2(7)a
- Directive on the Restriction Of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment ANNEX II Version 2.0
- EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety - Fragrance Allergens
- Substances of Very High Concern for REACH Annex XIV Authorisation (Article 59)
Lancet: authors Philippe Grandjean & Phil Landrigan
- Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals, List of 201 Chemicals known to be neurotoxic in man
German Federal Environment Agency (FEA)
- Administrative Regulation on the Classification of Substances hazardous to waters into Water Hazard Classes (Verwaltungsvorschrift wassergefahrdende Stoffe - VwVwS)
Safe Work Australia
- GHS - Australia
Government of Japan
- GHS - Japan
Republic of Korea - National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER)
- GHS - Korea
Malaysia Department of Occupational Safety and Health
- GHS - Malaysia
New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority (NZ EPA)
- New Zealand HSNO Chemical Classifications (GHS)
Green Science Policy Institute (GSPI)
- Six Classes of Problematic Chemicals
Healthy Building Network (HBN)
- HBN Priority Building Material Asthmagens List
Health Canada
- Health Canada - Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist
International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization (IARC)
- Monographs On the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans
Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)
- Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report, 2001
International Living Future Institute (ILFI)
- Living Building Red List 4.0
- Living Building Challenge 2.1 - Red List of Materials & Chemicals
- Living Building Challenge 3.0 - Red List of Materials & Chemicals
- Living Building Challenge 3.1 - Red List of Materials & Chemicals
MAK Commission of Germany (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
- List of Substances with MAK & BAT Values & Categories
Minnesota Department of Public Health
- Minnesota Department of Health - Chemicals of High Concern and Priority Chemicals
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
- Maine Department of Environmental Protection - Chemicals of High Concern and Priority Chemicals
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ORDEQ)
- Priority Persistent Pollutant (P3) List
Oslo-Paris Convention Commission (OSPAR)
- Chemical Lists of Priority Action & Possible Concern
Perkins+Will (P+W)
- Precautionary List
Québec Workplace Health and Safety Commission (Commission de la santé et de la securite du travail (CSST))
- Agents Causing Occupational Asthma With Key References
- WHMIS-SIMDUT: Controlled Products Classifications
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF)
- Hazardous 100+ List of Chemicals of High Concern
SC Johnson
- Potential Skin Allergens in SC Johnson products
Sephora
- Sephora - High Priority Chemicals
Silent Spring Institute
- Mammary Carcinogens Review Database
TCO Certified
- TCO Certified Accepted Substance List
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX)
- TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption eXchange) List of Potential Endocrine Disruptors
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Rotterdam Convention Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Annex III Chemicals
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) - Annex A, B & C and under Review
US Centers for Disease Control (US CDC)
- NIOSH Carcinogen List
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
- Safer Chemical Ingredients List (Positive List)
- Extremely Hazardous Substances - EPCRA Section 302
- VOCs exempt from smog regulation because of negligible photochemical reactivity
- Global Warming Potentials of Ozone Depletors and Substitutes
- Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 List of Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Integrated Risk Information System Database (IRIS)
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Registered Pesticides (Selections)
- Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) Class I & Class II
- Risk Management Actions & TSCA Work Plans
- Priority Chemicals List
- Priority PBT Profiles (Pollution Prevention and Toxics)
- TRI PBT Chemical List
US Food and Drug Administration
- US FDA - Antimicrobials Banned in Antiseptic Washes
US Department of Health & Human Services - National Institutes of Health (US NIH)
- Report on Carcinogens
- Expert Panel Reports & Monographs on Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity
US Department of Labor
- TRI Carcinogens
US Green Building Council (USGBC)
- LEED Pilot Credits: Chemical Avoidance in Building Materials
Washington State Department of Ecology (WA DOE)
- WA Department of Ecology - WA - Chemicals of High Concern to Children
- Chapter 173-333 WAC Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Waste Chemicals Programme
- Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals Manufacturing Restricted Substances List v1.1